Roasted Salmon Burrito Bowl + Cookbook Giveaway

Over a month has gone by since my last blog post. In nine years, I can't recall another instance where this much time has elapsed between entries. When I saw my calendar filling up with projects, I quickly resigned to the fact that the blog would be moved to the back burner for a bit. In some ways, it was refreshing to take a step away from it; when something has such a strong presence in your life, a break can be healthy. But I missed this space; it remains a creative outlet that I relish, and it feels good to be here. 

I have Jessica to thank for this resurgence. The other week, I received a copy of her second cookbook, The Pretty Dish: More Than 150 Everyday Recipes & 50 Beauty DIYs to Nourish Your Body Inside and Out. When it arrived, I quickly glanced through the photos (all of which are lovely) and set it aside. I'd dig into it when I had a free moment, which didn't occur until a few days ago. I sat down with my morning cup of coffee and flipped through the pages, searching for a recipe to dig into (there were a lot of excellent candidates). I found the colors and flavors of her carnitas burrito bowl striking, and I realized simply swapping in roasted salmon would make it pescatarian. 

Now, I have the honor of hosting a giveaway of The Pretty Dish!  One lucky winner will get a copy of Jessica's book!

Giveaway Details: 
To enter, leave a comment on this post. Eligible to US residents only (sorry international friends)! Giveaway ends at 12PM EST on Friday, April 6, 2018. The winner will be contacted via e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, another name will be drawn. (Note: Be sure to fill out the e-mail field in the comment form) 

ROASTED SALMON BURRITO BOWL

Source: Adapted from Jessica Merchant's The Pretty Dish

Notes: To make Jessica's recipe pescatarian, I swapped out the carnitas she included for spice roasted salmon fillets. All the other components came from her book. 

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
For the salmon
4 skin-on salmon fillets, 6 ounces each
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Zest of 1 organic lime
Olive oil

For the pickled onions
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt

For the corn salsa
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile pepper, diced
Juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

For the pico de gallo
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, diced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and ground black pepper

The Basic Bowl Setup
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 avocados, thinly sliced
A few spoonfuls pickled onions
3 tablespoons cotija cheese

Additional toppings (optional)
Sliced scallions
Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges

Directions
To make the roasted salmon
Preheat the oven to 485 degrees F. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the pan with olive oil or cooking spray. In a bowl, combine all the spices, lime zest, salt and black pepper and whisk together. Place salmon fillets, skin-side down, on the prepared baking pan. Cover the flesh of the fillets with the spice mix. Transfer to oven and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let salmon rest on the pan for another 10 minutes before serving. 

To make the pickled onions
Place the onions in a jar or cup. In a bowl, whisk together the water, vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour over the sliced onions. Let sit at room temperature for an hour. You can make this ahead of time and once made, store it in the fridge in a sealed container or jar.

To make the corn salsa
In a bowl, combine the corn, onion, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, cilantro. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Mix well. 

To make the pico de gallo
In a bowl, mix together the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and lime juiced, stirring well. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Southwestern Veggie Burgers

I had planned on doing a lot more reading this summer. I'm currently in the middle of three books, one of which I started way back in May. With house projects and photo shoots and, well, the distractions of the news (and the time suck of scrolling through Facebook), I've failed to make room for it (or anything else, really... which is why I've only posted a handful of times over the last couple of months).  I know that summer isn't over yet... and what remains will hopefully be filled with swimming, grilling, and reading. 

This weekend should include all of those things as we have some friends coming down. All are bloggers and, therefore, we've already planned out our meals and cocktails. There's talk of homemade ice cream, lobster tater tots (a recipe Dan's developing), and lots and lots of cheese. Someone's even bringing food-shaped pool floats (which will make for some fun Instagram posts). 

I'm not sure what came over me, but I was really feeling like I needed a veggie burger in my life. It doesn't happen often. Like, once every couple of years. I knew the burger itself needed to be packed with bold spices and it'd be topped with a grilled corn salsa (one of my favorite summer dishes). These southwestern veggie burgers are very filling and have a great texture (they aren't mushy and don't fall apart when you pick them up).  

SOUTHWESTERN VEGGIE BURGERS

Notes
The 1 tablespoon of salt is correct. Given the amount of vegetables and the unsalted black beans, it needs the seasoning. If you use salted black beans, you can cut the salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Servings
4-6 veggie burgers (depending on the size of the patties)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup grated zucchini (from 1 small zucchini)
1 cup grated carrot (approximately 2 carrots)
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 oz canned unsalted black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 eggs
Olive oil

Burger buns
1 avocado
Grilled corn salsa (see recipe below

Directions
1. Put the grated vegetables, cilantro, garlic, and black beans into a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

2. Add the eggs to the vegetables and mix until well combined. Stir dry ingredients into vegetable mixture. 

3. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375. 

4. Form the mixture into four patties and set aside. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Fry patties for 2 minutes on each side and then transfer to the prepared baking sheet. 

5. Bake patties in the oven for 15-20 minutes to allow them to cook all the way through. 

6. Serve burgers on a bun with sliced avocado and corn salsa.
 

GRILLED CORN SALSA

Servings
4-6

Ingredients
4 ears corn, shucked
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 jalapeño
1 large red onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch thick rings
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Salt

Directions
1. Brush corn and red onion with olive oil.

2. Set the grill to 450 degrees F and preheat for 10 minutes. Place the corn, red onion, and jalapeño onto the grill. Cook the vegetables, rotating or flipping occasionally, until they've charred evenly on all sides. Remove from the grill.

3. Shave corn into a mixing bowl. Chop up the jalapeno and red onion and add to bowl. Add diced tomato, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt, to taste. 

Shrimp + Sweet Corn Ceviche

Shrimp + Sweet Corn Ceviche

Shrimp + Sweet Corn Ceviche

Shrimp + Sweet Corn Ceviche

Shrimp + Sweet Corn Ceviche

Sunday night, Eric and I stumbled across a party in our neighborhood.  Well, the truth is that the reason we ended up there was because we were complaining about the music. We had been trying to relax and had pulled out some lounge chairs in our backyard. The weather was perfect; warm, but not humid. The dog was sleeping next to us, exhausted after a jam-packed weekend.

"I'm going to take Maki for a walk and see where that's coming from."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I just want to see and maybe tell them to turn it down a bit."

I laughed, knowing how ridiculous it was that the youngest homeowners on the street (and quite possibly in the three blocks surrounding us), the ones who were supposed it be hip and cool, were actually two crotchety guys who moan about the kids blasting their music too loudly.

Ten minutes later, Eric returned. It turned out the music was actually a live band (a band, I should add, that specializes in covering the songs of Jimmy Buffet, though they make it clear in their marketing materials that they do other genres) and that the woman whose party it was was very nice and had them turn down the volume. Oh, and if we wanted we were welcome to come over and join them.  Not being ones to turn down an invitation to a party, we headed off.

"This is so random." I said as we approached their driveway. We knew no one and the only interaction we'd had with them was Eric's brief confrontation.

The next thing we knew, three hours had gone by. A couple glasses of wine consumed. New friends made. We got to hear lots of gossip (and who isn't a sucker for that) and felt even more connected to the neighborhood that we just moved into four months ago.

Of course, none of this has to do with ceviche. I'm not even going to try to bridge these two. All I can tell you is that it wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be to make. In fact, it was really simple and so refreshing on these brutal summer days we've been having. There may have been some margaritas consumed as well... or gin and tonics. Definitely one of those.

Shrimp and Sweet Corn Ceviche

Servings 8 servings Source Adapted from Rick Bayless' recipe on the Food Network

Ingredients

1 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 ears farmstand corn, shucked
1 small white onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 3/4 cups lime juice
1/2 red pepper, seeds removed and cut into
1/2 inch pieces
3 serrano peppers, seeds removed and diced
1 large avocado, pitted and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Salt

Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

1. Add the shrimp to a large mixing bowl. Using a knife, shave the corn kernels into the bowl.  Add the white onion and cover mixture with lime juice.

2. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours, making sure to stir half way through to ensure all pieces cure evenly.

3. Remove from refrigerator and add red pepper, serrano peppers.

4. Season with salt, to taste (start with 1/2 a teaspoon and go from there).

5. Before serving, add the avocado and cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.